Early Tuesday Kickaround

*D.C. United declined to exercise the option on Luciano Emilio's contract and is likely to enter negotiations for a new salary at a lower rate, sources told the Insider. Given Emilio's production this year, the move was not unexpected.

Emilio's base salary was $720,000, by far the highest on the club's payroll and well above the designated player threshold of $415,000. He was slated to make a similar amount in 2010. United, I'm told, has yet to make a formal offer to Emilio, who turns 31 Saturday and has attracted preliminary interest from foreign clubs. He could leave on a free transfer outside of MLS next month. His scoring in league play has dropped from 20 in 2007 to 11 last year and 10 this past season. What would be a reasonable salary to retain him?

*Edwin Tenorio, a defensive midfielder who played in the past two World Cups for Ecuador, has inquired about opportunities in MLS, the Insider has learned. Tenorio, 33, is married to an American and has played in Ecuador, Mexico and Colombia.

*New Red Bulls sporting director Erik Soler, a native of Norway who has served as an agent and executive: "I am not going to claim I'm an MLS expert. I've become a generalist in football, I'm an expert in European soccer, but I have a sensible ability to learn things quite quickly."

On the coaching search, he said: "We are very open-minded, looking at different names, different places with the U.S., outside of the U.S. That is going to go on for while." As for interim coach Richie Williams: "I spent some time with him. I saw what he did last year. ... Hopefully, we're going to include him in one of the positions, and in what position, it's not finalized."

*The University of Maryland's program is not only close to losing assistant Rob Vartughian to Philadelphia in MLS, but assistant Russell Payne has been approached about the head coaching job at Army, which dismissed Kurt Swanbeck after eight seasons.

He's just not worth it for production or development, and we all pretty much agree that his slow play is part of a growing problem at DC United. He's worth a little as a poacher, but what we really need is a new, fast, skilled, and preferably young talent to replace him. We already are keeping Jaime, we shouldn't focus too much attention on keeping aging strikers placated.

215K? Emilio's output is awfully prolific for any "DP" in ALL competitions isn't it? Two Fifteen is an insult regardless of your expectations. Now we see the ugly side of the DP rule, while clubs like Seattle(or at least their fans anyway) hope for a second or third slot, our club needs a bail out plan.

Dude is treated like such a hunk of meat. If he's offered comfortable diggs elsewhere I hope he takes em.

300-350K. No doubt MLS is going to raise the salary cap so United may have some extra cash to keep him here in DC. He knows the system, players, and how MLS works - and maybe a new coach can help him get back into form. The guy still lead DC with most goals in the past three years. I think the DP tag raised our expectations. Keep him at 300-350K and find him a young, speedy partner up top.

Bringing back Emillio???? He is the slowest forward in the entire MLS. It's time to get the new coach here quickly so he can put his foot down about not being saddled with this albatross around his neck. How much longer do we want to delay the development of young forwards in order to keep a guy who can only score sitters - if he's lucky. I wouldn't take Emilio back if he offered to play for a ham sandwich.

I don't think prolific is a word I would use to describe a washed up poacher like Emilio who seems to have lost his ability to anticipate and separate from defenders. The thing that furstrated me about him so much last year (and the year before, frankly) is that he mailed it in 90% of the time except for a few rare occasions when we played Marathon. How many times did we try and pass him the ball last year to hold up his play with his back to the goal, and the defender behind him would still beat him to the ball and get a toe on it to knock it away. I can't recall the last time I saw him make an intelligent run (or light jog as the case may be) into space either. HE JUST STANDS THERE!

Or maybe he could pay us to come back? Say $100k? That strikes me as the only good deal for United in this scenario.

Talk about lack of consensus...the SI's own version of healthcare. Emilio deserves our thanks for a nice year or two of poaching and a pat on the back on his way south where someone will pay him more than DCU should. If the rule is that we must put a number with our vote: 150K seems about right and, DCUMD, if the new coach puts Pontius in Emilio's role, I would set his over/under at 8 goals in MLS regular season next year.

wmsiii, don't take my post the wrong way. I don't believe Emilio is worth his current salary, I don't think he really ever was aside from his first season when he wasn't making that much. I actually hope he gets an offer elsewhere and takes it, unless he really likes living in the states(which I'm guessing he could take or leave), but as DCUMD points out, unless they've got someone else lined up he's still serviceable at the right price.

Maybe prolific isn't the right word, but I think it's outrageous to think anyone on earth would stay anywhere and accept a 75-80% pay cut in any job as has been suggested. The guy is a human being not a circus animal. Regardless of how much he's disappointed fans of the club, he still deserves to be treated with some dignity.

Seriously, how would you guys who are suggesting 150K act if your boss pulled you aside during the Holiday break and told you you can keep your job but you're only going to make 1/7th of your current salary!?! Get real.

Aside from his first year - Emilio has been an average performer in this league. He's certainly not worth DP figures and likely not even worth a max salary below a DP designation.

Do I think he's worth keeping around at a 200-250 range? Sure. Do I think he'll actually work in MLS or likes MLS enough to stick around for that? No. I'm sure he can find a higher overall package somewhere else. If he does - fair game to him even if he has a stellar run of form next year. DC United cannot afford his level of production at anything more than 200-250k annually.

Also, given that we'll have a new coach coming in, I'm not sure Emilio is the kind of player he'll want up top.

The DP status was a concession to Emilio. He doesn't bring the excitement, the fans, or the jersey sales that a DP should.

One would have to do some market research and look at the salaries of forwards with similar goal totals. The data are out there, but I have deadlines to meet if I want to keep my non-DP salary. Off the top of my head, I'd say $400K + incentives.

@DadRyan: how would I feel if my boss told me I'd have to take one fifth (not one seventh) of my salary to keep my job? It'd all depend upon how badly I needed that job.

If he gets a lowball offer from DCU I would think he'd leave for some other club. If there's no solid interest elsewhere, he'll stay. He's too young to retire. He's a professional and understands that you're paid for a record of performance, and that his production dropped off drastically.

He hasn't attained the status of Jaime who will be kept on the roster as long as he wants to be.

Well I dont know how much Emilio is worth, certainly not more than $250K. I'd be better with $150K. Some of it depends on what you can get to replace him with. I'd be fine with getting a great midfielder for $500-600K and playing Pontius, Quaranta and Moreno up top. Or taking the money and getting a decent mid for $350K and a young striker for $350K, but its all really in who you can get to come here.

DadRyan, don't compare sports salary negotiations to regular salaries. First of all he got a 172% raise from 2007 to 2008, who gets one of those???? If you do, i want to work where you do! And yeah $150 would be 1/5th of what he's making but its not too far from what he was making before (when he was 3 years younger). Also, if i made $720K for 2 years and someone offered me about what i was making before that, then yeah, i'd consider it. If i had a better offer, i'd leave. But there is a salary cap so you can't afford to pay people just to keep them happy. If he doesn't like the offer he'll leave, i dont think he'll take it personal.

Seriously, how would you guys who are suggesting 150K act if your boss pulled you aside during the Holiday break and told you you can keep your job but you're only going to make 1/7th of your current salary!?! Get real.

Posted by: DadRyan

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Respectfully, DadRyan, I don't think it's a fair analogy, and certainly the holidays are immaterial. It's just the off-season and the end of his contract.

If DCU thinks his skills have deteriorated they are justified in offering him whatever they think he's now worth. Emilio, of course, has the right to shop himself around.

The business of being a pro athlete ain't always pretty, especially under a salary cap.

I happen to agree with those who think the bulk of his salary can be put to better use. Will it? We'll see.

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Seriously, shouldn't this matter be decided by the new coach?

Posted by: Barracudas

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By the GM, actually, but come on, Barracudas, this is a soccer blog. The reason that it says "Post a Comment" is so we can pontificate on things that we don't actually have to do anything about.

Do you really think asking readers what they think on the matter is out of bounds?

Interesting numbers, looks like an argument against the DP. At least production wise, maybe not for attendance purposes. The only good thing is that the DP only counts for so much against the cap. Otherwise i think it'd be better to spend $250K on 3 players each than $750K on any one player.

Should the new coach have input? Sure. But the coach doesn't construct the team.

I think this team needs to keep Emilio (at a good price). There are many more holes to fill, and finding a striker is a difficult one. Not only are there aging stars to replace / back up, but Olsen is gone, and other positions need improvement. Take the easy road on this one.

All due respect Brian76, I don't think you can call that an argument against a DP. As far as I can tell, the only other out and out striker DPs are Angel and Landin, and Angel only played sparingly due to horrible injuries, and Landin was only here for like 6 weeks, or some other very short time. Guys like Beckham, Ljungburg, and Blanco certainly produced for their teams, and I'd be most would agree, more than Emilio did United.

I think Barracuda's point was that such a big decision shouldn't be taken without at least some input from the new coach, whose fate will largely be determined by whomever the team has to score goals. Ideally, from the perspective of the new hire, he's right. Timing might not allow for that.

It's a business. United was very good to Emilio the last 2 years. He was already rewarded for his spectacular first year. Now, the team has to consider where it will get the offense it needs -- not just a goal-scorer, but someone who makes the entire team a more potent offense. Guys like Schelotto, Donovan and Angel might have only scored a couple more goals than Emilio, but their impact on games was much more significant.

The team needs a new, more impactful DP. They could use Olsen's salary slot to hold on to Luci, but I wouldn't go much beyond 250 or 275k. That assumes the team doesn't replace him altogether.

I know its not an apples to apples comparision, like you said, not all DPs are strikers and the worth of a player isn't solely measured in goals. BUT, JP Angel played in 25 games and only scored 12 goals. Cunningham played in 28 games and scored 17 goals on a nearly as bad team. Looking at money only, i'd rather have Cunningham and $1.3 million to spend on somone else. But like i said, JP only costs $400K or whatever the max is, against the cap so its not too much different. I just think that there is alot of value out there for cheap if you can find it, and for your big money DP slot you need to use it on someone with a huge fan base like Blanco and Beckham, otherwise what's the point.

Look at this list and tell me what sticks out? Which of these things doesn't belong?

This is just one of many big decisions that have to be made this offseason.

First and foremost is hiring a coach and determining what the team is going to look like and how the offense will be expected to operate.

IF Emilio stays I think he'd realistically be worth about 200K. Under a salary cap, anything more would unfairly cut into other players' paychecks.

I Love Luci but even as a proponent of his value I realize decisions about his future have to be considered in conjunction with the decisions about the futures and expected contributions from players like Jaime, Christian Gomez, Fred, Pontius, Quaranta and others who might be acquired.

Dude's my math skills are worse than my writing skills, and we all know how bad them is... I agree with almost everyone here in that I think he could stay if he took a big cut, I was just saying that it's ridiculous to think the DCU would embarrass themselves and Emilio by offering him 150K.

My comments had nothing to do with Christmas spirit, I was just using an example of a break in work we are all familiar with. Why can't I compare sports compensation to the compensation paper pushers, and desk jockeys get? I know they tend to be the most on task, accountable folks in the work force and all... Smoke breaks, checking in on blogs 6 times a day, spending hours on the toilet reading the newspaper... Yeah that'd be unfair to suggest that folks who've made an artform of pretending to be busy shouldn't be scrutinized like pro athletes.
That'd be unfair.

Now that we are nearing the January transfer market and there has been discussion about where Donnovan should go, that got me to thinking that it could be really helpful and insightful if you (Goff) did a bit of a European league ranking or even global league ranking (or at least including MLS, Latin America, the J League and the A league). Placing the English Champions league, Bund 2, Seria B and Spanish 2nd would also be interesting as they are better then many European first divisions. A straight ranking or tiering would be really interesting and helpful for your readers football education. Thanks for considering the idea.

I think Emilio at best is worth 150k no more. He has disappointed DC plenty of times especially in International play. He is a shaky forward having bad gmaes > good games. He is a bunch of hype.
Never liked him in the beginning even when he won the golden boot.
So I think United needs to invest in a better forward. I wonder if Adderly wants to come back from Aguila. At least he scores and is a member of a National team.

I think the decision on Luci is strictly a business decision by the FO that was probably decided long ago. I'm sure they informed all the prospects for the DCU job of that fact. And if I were making a decision on a new coach, I would be very leary of anyone who said "I won't come unless Emilio is on the roster at DP wages, because I want him and I want him to be happy".

@b18bolo -- I think you misunderstand thee thrust of the discussion. I might not have read every comment carefully, but I don't think ANYONE is suggesting that DCU retain Emilio as a DP. Really, the only question is whether DCU wants him back at all, and what to offer him if they do. There's a minimum he would accept, to be sure. Is that below $200k or above? And, then there's the maximum DCU would be willing to pay, which is surely below the DP level. Goff's post suggests that there is some negotiating going on, so both sides might entertain a new deal if the price is right. The question is what is the right price....

Hey Goff, also any idea if Joaquin botero is on ours/any MLS club's radar? He was the third highest goal scorer in south america, despite "retiring" from the bolivian NT after his hat-trick vs. Argentina. Also at the time he was head and shoulders above everyone else before retiring with his goals compared to luis fabiano and humberto suazo of chile.

He is a free agent right now, and is looking for a team. Rumor was before he went to mexico, Houston were looking at him but he wanted 400k which was more than Houston wanted to pay.

Goal based incentives are a terrible idea which will backfire in the worst possible way. He is already the squad's most selfish player. He already plays with his head down and takes too many weak, hopeless shots instead of working on the possession attack. Against Chivas in a critical match, he stripped the ball from Moreno when JM was lining up a wide-open shot. Just one incident, perhaps, but that has become his character.

And when he's finally benched for good, with his source of earnings thus cut off, he'll become even more of a cancer.

"The Designated Player Rule allows the League to sign players (under the League's single entity system) whose salary will fall outside of the team salary budget and whose cost above the salary budget charge will be the financial responsibility of the club for which they play. A Designated Player's salary budget charge will be capped at $415,000 per annum in 2009, but his actual compensation is higher."

As I understand it, if Emilio made $720k or %750k (I don't know the right figure), DCU was paying less than $350k, and the league was paying the first $415k "under the single-entity system". So, clearly DCU might want to free up the DP slot for someone else, but they're definitely intending to free up more cap room, which means they will pay him less than $300k regardless. I am assuming -- and everyone else is, too -- that they intend to offer something less than $300k in total, possibly much less, so they can free up the DP slot and lessen the salary cap figure going to Luci's slot.

Also one thing i am noticing in here, is the idea that DP should be used as a form of marketing??? I disagree. We should keep finding the hidden gem's like etcheverry was, and gallardo sorta' because they both had incredible skill, IMO gallardo had the most NATURAL talent out of any of the DPs in our league so far, as far as creating went.

Etcheverry too would be a DP if he was playing now a days.

We should keep to this path, screw marketing and trying to get butts in seats trying to land a 'name'. Results is what gave us our MLS championships and results outside of the MLS, as it got the team fans, not BIG names.

I say bring back El Diablo (of the mid 90's). Even if that is not possible then I agree with the consensus that Emilio should not retain the DP spot or his current salary. I do not think that the forward spot his our biggest concern. We need to first and foremost find a starting goal keeper and then find new pieces for the backline. The combo of Pontius and Wallace who both can play a couple of different positions (but neither gk) gives us the ability to move them around depending on who else we sign. In terms of the DP slot, I don't think it should be driven by a big name for marketing purposes. I would like us to use it for a talented midfielder who can help control the pace of the game and thread some nice passes so that Pontius or whoever can get some good looks at goal.

Emilio? No more than $250 K (which somewhere deep down inside, I feel that even that's too high but I can live with the net result over any type of cap increase). DP this dude ain't. We need more breathing room in the cap to bring in some experience and speed.

Fischy: You are correct, the real question is what salary well below the DP threshhold would properly compensate Luci for his expected contribution, and would Luci agree. The other question is whether a prospective head coach wants Luci at any salary he is likely to accept, since even 250k is several times what Pontius and Quaranta make, just to name two. Management seems to think it's worth it at some price to keep him on the roster. I'm not so sure.

Emilio could be a valuable piece on the right MLS team, but he isn't going to be the most important player or even in the top five. Deciding what to do with him before the shoe drops on coach, moreno, gomez, and a new DP would be like, well, hiring an offensive coordinator (in American football) before hiring a head coach. You might foreclose other, better opportunities, and end up with Emilio as your top striker even though that wasn't what you wanted. I say let him test the waters, discover his market value, and management can then decide whether he is worth that much, given other choices.

But everyone on this board over time seems to agree that you don't keep Moreno, Gomez, Emilio and Fred. Of those four, I'd be inclined to keep Moreno first, Gomez second. That means while I respect Emilio and Fred, they don't fit my vision of this team.

The problem with Emilio isn't really his production as an individual, given that he's been our leading scorer in each of the last 3 seasons. Yes, it's down quite a bit, but it's still pretty good. The problem is that this is the sum of his contribution to the team; he offers goals and, 95% of the time, nothing else. He lacks speed, size, and a reliable first touch, and mentally it seemed like Soehn was always having to work very hard to keep him pointed in the right direction.

As of right now, I wouldn't start Emilio. Our offense needs more athleticism and more meaningful movement. Emilio's runs are often lacking in conviction and menace. We're not exactly the fastest team, and starting Emilio bogs down every attack. Each pass and each touch has to be more or less perfect for us to evade defenders and create chances. Why needlessly put ourselves up to such a high-wire act?

Down the stretch, I felt that Pontius was our best bet to lead the line, and I stand by that. He is not as sharp a finisher as Emilio, but he is better in virtually every other category of skill. Our striker needs to contribute to the entire offense, not just when the ball's in the box. A player like Pontius opens up many more options for us in terms of how we create scoring chances, which in turn makes us harder to defend, which means more goals for everyone (not just one player).

Let me put it this way: I could see Pontius getting to 10 goals starting up front next year. However, I think what he'd do for the offense as a whole means more goals from Moreno, Quaranta, Wallace, Gomez, and Szetela. Our offense will be much less predictable, and it will move faster as a unit. This means teams have to spend more time focused on defending us, which in turn means they are getting at our defenders (where improvements are needed) less.

So, to answer the question, I'd thank Emilio for his service and move on. It's a shame he only has a month left on his contract, because I think his reputation in Honduras is still high enough that we could get a transfer fee.

Is it just me, or does this season's Champions League group stage leave you with an empty feeling? What's interesting about it? Everytime I follow the scores I'm left with nothing but a strange hunger for something grilled or fried in a pita with yogurt sauce.

I think Barracuda's point was that such a big decision shouldn't be taken without at least some input from the new coach, whose fate will largely be determined by whomever the team has to score goals. Ideally, from the perspective of the new hire, he's right. Timing might not allow for that.

Posted by: fischy

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Yeah, fischy, that makes sense.

My mistake, Barracudas. I now see what you were pointing out and you were correct (and fischy was, too).

It's a shame D.C. United is a year behind on Emilio's contract. United could have made a little money if they had let him go then.

Right now, let him go. Bring a younger, cheaper, and better player.

Posted by: hardcoco | December 8, 2009 3:31 PM | Report abuse

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Thats what i said, when morelia was interested, they should have gotten some transfer fee money, and let him walk with Doe being his temporary replacement while he was gone.... .but no. They had to play it safe, and keep him around for better or for worse.

It's a shame D.C. United is a year behind on Emilio's contract. United could have made a little money if they had let him go then.

Right now, let him go. Bring a younger, cheaper, and better player.

Posted by: hardcoco | December 8, 2009 3:31 PM | Report abuse

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Thats what i said, when morelia was interested, they should have gotten some transfer fee money, and let him walk with Doe being his temporary replacement while he was gone.... .but no. They had to play it safe, and keep him around for better or for worse.

First off, everybody acts like you can just go out and pluck a guy who can score 10 goals off a tree. Puh-lease.

I think Luci will be gone next year, as I believe somebody will offer him more money than DCU.

However, it's hard to tell if Luci could be successful next year or not. Until we find out who's coaching, and what style of play they're going to implement. I still believe he could be successful in a system that focused on getting service from the flanks. A la Houston or New England.

Having said all that, I also like Pontius. I think he was a revalation this year. Can he keep improving? Time will tell.

I thought Wallace was impressive too, beating players on the flank and being involved on the offensive side of the ball. I'd like to see him continue to improve as well.

These two guys could be a serious asset for us this year.

Of course, I'm also the same guy who thought Rod Dyachenko was the real deal. So you can take it all with a grain of salt.

Emilio's goal totals are skewed by the fact that he doesn't take the PKs, and most of the top scorers do (and it isn't because he's terrible at them, but because we like Moreno's a lot). If you assumed he took them and converted at the 70+% rate that most decent offensive players do, that would be about 14 or 15 goals a season over the last two.

That's not Best XI numbers, and not DP-worthy. But it is solid production (would have been third place last year), and at anything under about $300k, he's a reasonable risk. At max cap value, probably not.

I don't have any MLS opportunities to offer him, but if Edwin Tenorio would like to play pickup in Montgomery County I can point him to a game with several guys in their 20's and 30's who like to be big fish in a small pond

Wow, I've never heard of anything like that that didn't involve guys getting sent off for the losing team. I would have to guess that Leeds dominated the regulation period, and luck turned to match skill in OT.

But it's great for Grella that he broke the deadlock 2 minutes after coming on! And again 8 minutes later!